


acquaintance

by severalshrimps



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Developing Relationship, M/M, Spark Stiles Stilinski, it's ur run-of-the-mill "oops the wars over and Theo needs to figure what the fuck's going on" fic, pizza as post-war bonding, starts immediately after 6b
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:28:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29522967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/severalshrimps/pseuds/severalshrimps
Summary: “I want you to stay.”It knocks the air out of Theo’s chest, and for a moment he just stares, slack-jawed. It’s one thing to be tolerated. That’s already more than he deserves. It’s another thing entirely to be wanted, to have Liam, fierce, quick-tempered, loyal Liam tell the guy who killed his alpha that he wants him around. He means it too, face open and earnest, heart beating steadily, smelling like affection (under the blood, the anger, the fear still lingering).or,the author is roughly the 19283rd person to write some iteration of this fic because loving Theo is just Like That
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 21
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a first tiny snippet so far, I have more parts drafted but I wanna upload this Now or else I'm gonna stare at it until I hate it. Don't expect regular updates, I'm in my last semester of my degree I do NOT have time to be writing fic. It's also very possible I'll come back and do a complete rewrite of this.
> 
> Anyway I love Theo and I hate that we only got little glimpses of a full redemption arc.

Standing outside Beacon Hills Memorial next to Liam, watching half a dozen hunters get loaded into an unmarked van by Chris Argent’s associates, Theo feels suddenly like he doesn’t know who he is anymore. After the ghost riders, he had bolted without so much as a backwards glance, all too eager to get away from this town and the people in it. This time around he hasn’t just jumped back in the fray, but finds himself actually thinking about _staying_ , about trying to find a place for himself with people he used to want dead. Some part of this strange New Theo wants to be here, keeps whispering _packpackpack_ whenever Liam’s arm brushes his. There’s also the sensation of drawing Gabe’s pain, the revelation that he can _do_ that, and Mason’s voice in his head telling him that Theo _cares_ now.

It’s all unfamiliar and unnerving, and Theo still kind of wants to make a run for it. He almost does when Melissa joins them in the parking lot, followed by Mason and Corey hauling a shell-shocked Nolan along. Liam turns away from Theo then and he looks over at his truck, wonders if he has time to get to it before Liam catches on and chases after him. He doesn’t, because Mason turns the conversation to him.

“What about you, Theo?” Theo doesn’t know what the question is, hasn’t been listening in. He really has changed. He turns to face Mason, raising his eyebrows questioningly. Mason waves vaguely at him with the hand that isn’t gripping Nolan’s arm.

“Got any wolfsbane bullets we need to burn out?”

“No, I don’t think they’re wasting those on a kid who just picked up a gun last week,” Theo says, shrugging. “I’m good.”

Mason nods, satisfied, and turns to Corey to debate what to do about Nolan, who looks between the two of them with a mixture of terror and awe. Somewhere between betraying Monroe and watching his friend die, Nolan seems to have developed a strange admiration for the couple. Mason’s stubborn loyalty to Liam probably did the trick.

Theo turns towards the truck again, weighing the pros and cons of running for it and trying not to think too much about Liam. Liam, predictably, ruins that by curling a clawed hand around Theo’s arm. Theo starts, glancing down to where Liam’s fingers press into his wrist. The sight of his own veins – the memory of them turning ink-black – makes him shiver. When he looks up again, Liam’s golden eyes are burning into him.

“If you run away again, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.” Of course, he knows what Theo’s been thinking. Liam seems to know him better than he knows himself these days, and Theo’s chest aches a little with the thought. It doesn’t stop him from arguing, though. He’s nothing if not stubborn.

“I didn’t run awa–“ Liam cuts him off, voice slipping into a growl.

“You did. And if you do it again, I’m going to rip your head off.”

Somewhere in his periphery, Theo hears Melissa’s phone ring, hears Scott’s voice on the other side telling her that it’s over, that they made it (“Oh also,” Scott adds, sounding sheepish, “Stiles and Derek are here.” Mason’s face splits in a grin.), and that they’re going to regroup at the Stilinski house for some good old _Thank God We’re Alive_ bonding time. Theo knows that if he stays, he’s going to have to walk through that door and face Scott, face _Stiles_ , and convince them that he’s changed, that he’s going to continue to change, that it’s worth the risk letting him stay around. He’s not sure if it is. He’s still itching to run, even as Liam’s grip on him seems to tighten every second.

“It’s not like I have a reason to stay,” Theo mutters, in a cheap bid to convince himself to take the easy way out. Again.

And then Liam digs his claws into Theo’s arm just enough to hurt and makes up his mind for him.

“I want you to stay.”

It knocks the air out of Theo’s chest, and for a moment he just stares, slack-jawed. It’s one thing to be tolerated. That’s already more than he deserves. It’s another thing entirely to be _wanted_ , to have Liam, fierce, quick-tempered, loyal Liam tell the guy who killed his alpha that he wants him around. He means it too, face open and earnest, heart beating steadily, smelling like affection (under the blood, the anger, the _fear_ still lingering).

Maybe this is how Theo finds out who New Theo is. By figuring out why Liam wants him here.

Theo chances a glance towards the others, and finds that Melissa’s looking at him, head cocked to one side, an unreadable look on her face. She might be the scariest thing about staying. If the pack decides they want Theo dead, she’ll be the one pulling the trigger.

Theo takes a deep breath, strains his ears, tries to find any indication of an intention to kill from anyone around, but there’s nothing. Well, there’s a hint of bloodlust coming off of Liam, but that’s just what he always smells like. Theo swallows thickly and turns back to him.

“Okay. I’ll stay.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If you hurt Liam, I’ll hold you down while he guts you,” Stiles says finally, and something in his voice makes both the wolf and the coyote in Theo rear back, teeth bared. And then his brain catches up with Stiles’ words and he’s feeling that strange ache in his chest again. He wonders how much, exactly, the spark let Stiles see in him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloo, this is even shorter than the first chapter but this fic is honestly mostly about me getting into a writing habit again so I'm not gonna feel bad abt that (and it's 666 words so). Also did a very minor edit of chapter 1.
> 
> And yes it's Spark Stiles. Don't ask me to explain my magic system headcanons for TW bc I can't.

As Theo pulls onto the curb behind Melissa’s car, the urge to run creeps up on him again. Melissa ushers Nolan up the porch steps, Mason and Corey right behind her, and just as she reaches out to knock the door flings open, revealing Stiles grinning ear-to-ear. Theo stills in his seat, and Liam clicks his tongue.

“He doesn’t hate you, you know,” he says, like he’s stating something obvious. Theo turns and glares.

“Sure.” It comes out a little too sharp, but there’s just _no way_ Stiles doesn’t hate Theo. Not when Stiles was the one who saw right through him from the start. Stiles knew him, knows him still, in a way Liam can’t.

“He doesn’t,” Liam repeats, sounding tired. “And even if he does, you’re both just gonna have to deal with it.” And with that, Liam clambers out of the truck and darts across the lawn. Theo hears Stiles’ overjoyed shout of _Liam! My boy!_ and climbs out, hoping beyond hope that Stiles’ affection for Liam might soften his hostility toward Theo.

When Theo reaches the porch, Stiles meets his eye over Liam’s shoulder and quickly shoves the werewolf into the hallway. Theo only barely catches Liam’s panicked face before the door shuts with a click, and then he’s alone with Stiles, who stares unblinking at him.

Theo can’t suppress the shiver that runs up his spine when he feels Stiles’ spark prod at him. It’s accompanied by the smell of burning wood and that strange fear Theo felt running through the tunnels under Eichen. The spark snakes invisible around his arm and presses firm at the tender inside of his wrist. It then shifts to his head, curling behind his eyes, before slithering down to settle warm around his heart. All the while Stiles just _looks_ , watches with a calculating look Theo recognises in himself (or his old self, rather). He stands shock-still and lets it happen, only flinching when the spark finds his memory of the zoo. The corner of Stiles’ mouth twitches, but he keeps rifling through Theo’s mind without a word.

Theo can hear Liam whining on the other side of the door, can hear Melissa sigh and try to convince him to join the rest of the pack further into the house. Liam refuses, his heartbeat still close and strong and quick with fear. Theo, on the other hand, is daring to hope. The spark’s nudges are beginning to feel less accusing, and Stiles’ scent is less wildfire and more dying embers.

“If you hurt Liam, I’ll hold you down while he guts you,” Stiles says finally, and something in his voice makes both the wolf and the coyote in Theo rear back, teeth bared. And then his brain catches up with Stiles’ words and he’s feeling that strange ache in his chest again. He wonders how much, exactly, the spark let Stiles see in him.

“I don’t doubt it.” He misses his usual unbothered drawl by a mile, and Stiles grins wide.

“Now,” he starts, “pizza’s gonna be here in an hour or so, and I hope either Meat Lovers or Veggie is up your alley because half of Angie’s staff decided to quit their jobs to commit genocide so she’s limiting us to two kinds.” And then Theo is suddenly in the Stilinski hallway assuring Liam that _yes, I’m fine, you’re the one who said he doesn’t hate me._ Theo hesitates for a moment outside the living room, cramped with people he has tried to _kill_ , but Liam just wraps an arm around his shoulders and pulls him along to sit on the floor with Mason and Corey. The rest of the pack either don’t care or are too exhausted to notice him (Malia does look up from where she’s napping in Scott’s lap, though, but she only tilts her head, huffs, and goes straight back to sleep), and Stiles sends him an exaggerated thumbs-up from the doorway.

All things considered, staying turns out alright.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You stayed.” He still has that desperate edge to his voice.
> 
> “I said I would.” Which doesn’t really mean much coming from him, Theo supposes. Then again, New Theo doesn’t really lie. At least not to Liam. Which might be why Liam’s apprehensive look slides into a tiny smile.
> 
> “You’re wearing my clothes.”
> 
> “Your mom was very upset you made me sleep on the sofa all bloody,” Theo sniffs, taking a bite of a pancake. Liam’s grin widens.
> 
> “Mom likes you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this one cuts off kinda abruptly but the next part is probably gonna take a While bc now we're getting into the part I didn't draft first hehe.. Anyway it's time for Liam's mom, who SHOULD have been a major character in 6b but Teen Wolf, like most shows, has a Mom Problem so. Mom Time

The next morning Theo wakes up slow, groggy and _late_. The afternoon sun is peeking through the curtains, and Theo is acutely aware that the sofa he and Liam are lying on is not built for two (almost) grown men. Liam, blissfully unaware of Theo’s discomfort, burrows further into Theo’s shoulder and snores on.

Theo carefully rolls Liam off of him so he can stand and stretch and remember where he is. After the pack had been debriefed and fed and hugged within an inch of their lives, Stiles had very firmly shooed them all out, with the exception of the McCalls. Theo dropped Nolan off to two very anxious parents, watched Corey all but carry Mason into the Hewitt house, and then drove Liam home. At that point, a combination of complete exhaustion and Liam’s sharp, sharp eyes on him made Theo let slip that he had planned on sleeping in the truck, and Liam forced him out onto the curb, quietly unlocked the front door and yanked Theo down onto the sofa as soon as he toed his shoes off (“The stairs creak, we’ll wake up my parents.”).

Thus, Theo is standing in the Geyer-Dunbar living room at two in the afternoon, still in clothes with blood-stained bullet holes, when he first meets Liam’s mother.

She comes bustling into the kitchen with her arms full of groceries, catches sight of Theo over the island, and stops dead. Theo desperately wills his sleep-heavy brain to come up with something, anything to say (does she know about werewolves _at all_?), but Mrs Dunbar beats him to it.

“You look like you need breakfast, hun. Come help me put all this away so we can make pancakes.” She starts puttering about, opening cabinets and huffing when she realises she forgot to buy onions. Theo gapes, briefly, but decides it’s best to roll with the punches for now. Although, the second he walks into the kitchen and Mrs Dunbar sees how _grimy_ he really is, she ushers him into the shower and digs out sweatpants and a t-shirt from Liam’s closet, all the while muttering about her son _not taking care of guests, really, what did I do wrong_.

By the time Liam starts stirring, Theo is clean, dressed, on first name basis with Jenna (“Liam would make such a fuss about you calling me Mrs Dunbar.”) and frying a werewolf-sized batch of bacon. He watches as Liam slings an arm over the sofa and hauls himself up to sit, his back to the kitchen. He shakes his head a few times, coughs once, and then jumps to his feet, suddenly tense.

“Theo!” Theo’s pulse stutters almost painfully at the desperate tone in Liam’s voice, and Liam whips around to follow the noise, softening immediately when he finds Theo. Jenna tuts at him.

“He’s right here, no need to yell. Set the table so you two can eat,” she instructs, wiping her hands on a towel. “I’m going to make some calls and once you’re less starving, I’m going to have some questions.” She pats Theo on the shoulder, ruffles Liam’s hair as she passes him, and disappears up the stairs. Theo blinks after her, very aware of Liam’s eyes still boring into the side of his face. He waits, and after thirty seconds or so Liam shuffles into the kitchen. They’re quiet as they set the table, and Liam keeps softly bumping into Theo in a way that feels intentional. When they sit down, Theo pushes the pan of bacon across to Liam, and Liam’s jaw twitches once, twice before he breaks.

“You stayed.” He still has that desperate edge to his voice.

“I said I would.” Which doesn’t really mean much coming from him, Theo supposes. Then again, New Theo doesn’t really lie. At least not to Liam. Which might be why Liam’s apprehensive look slides into a tiny smile.

“You’re wearing my clothes.”

“Your mom was very upset you made me sleep on the sofa all bloody,” Theo sniffs, taking a bite of a pancake. Liam’s grin widens.

“Mom likes you.” Theo knows that, but he also knows that Jenna doesn’t know who he is, what he’s done to her son. He watches as Liam heaps bacon onto his plate, and his stomach turns.

“She’s being nice to her son’s acquaintance,” he mutters, childishly. At that, Liam face falls, and his scent turns subtly sour. It makes the wolf in Theo whine pitifully.

“I’m not sure _acquaintance_ cuts it.” Liam’s voice is so harsh, so unlike him, that Theo gives in.

“Then what, Liam?”

“You’re pack,” Liam tells him, eyes flashing across the table. Theo scoffs humourlessly, but despite his doubts, the wolf settles.

“You _are_ ,” Liam insists. “Even if you don’t believe it yourself yet.”

“I’m not sure the others agree with you on that.” Theo can’t look at Liam, can’t concede to the chorus of _packhomepackhome_ in his head.

“Scott wouldn’t have called you if he didn’t want you in the pack.” Liam’s voice is softer now, coaxing a scared animal out of hiding. “Stiles wouldn’t have let you in the house if he wasn’t okay with it.” Liam’s heart beats steady and true. Theo keeps staring at his plate.

They sit in silence for a while, and Theo eventually gives in to his rumbling stomach and scarfs down a couple of pancakes and the pile of bacon Liam unceremoniously dumps onto his plate. He stealthily avoids eye contact with Liam as they clear the table, and Liam hip checks him as he’s filling the dishwasher.

“Even if you don’t want to be pack, you’re still my friend,” Liam mutters, and then he’s bounding up the stairs, leaving Theo in the kitchen, dumbstruck and a little giddy.


End file.
